It’s May, It’s May!

The lovely month of May is full of holidays and seasonal connotations. Celebrate this month every day through the following activities.

CONNECT:

• Cinco de Mayo is more popular in the U.S. than in Mexico. Learn about its history and importance at http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Holidays/Cinco/
• May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Learn more about these communities and their contributions at http://www.afk.com/resources/apahm.tpl
• The month of May is named after the Greek goddess Maia. Find out about her at http://www.ourladyofsalt.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=150:the-goddess-of-may-maia&catid=42:newsletter&Itemid=43

CREATE:

• Try some of these ideas for May-inspired activities: http://www.kidactivities.net/post/Ideas-for-Kids-for-the-Month-of-May.aspx
• Create a May calendar with holidays and celebratory birthdays, adding images for each event. Use these websites to fill in your calendar. Then plan your own way to celebrate one of these days, such as International Nurses Day on May 12. http://www.ducksters.com/history/mayinhistory.php. (Note: May is national Burger month so you could celebrate every day…)
• Dance around the maypole – and make it as a family activity: http://www.modernmom.com/f725b57c-3b45-11e3-8407-bc764e04a41e.html. Get ideas about music and dance at http://www.maypoledance.com/index.html

CARE:

• There are lots of ways to say thanks to mothers: making cards, poems, songs,crafts. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/mothersday/ has several simple ideas.
• Did you know how the Mayflower plant is linked to the pilgrims? Root out the history at http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/trailing-arbutus/mayflower-trailing-arbutus.htm, and learn how to grow this historic flower.
• Memorial Day remembers the people who died in wars or in the service of their country. http://www.military.com/memorial-day/celebrating-memorial-day-with-children.html provides ideas for ways for youth to honor these military heroes.

CAREER:

Almost three-quarters of mothers in the U.S. are in the workforce. http://www.naccrra.org/sites/default/files/default_site_pages/2012/ccgb_mothers_workforce_jan2012.pdf has several important facts about them and their issues.

Earth Day

April 22 is Earth Day. How will you honor your Earth Mother?

CONNECT:

·        Take a look at Earth Day by the numbers: http://www.timeforkids.com/news/earth-day/87036

·        The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists several books for Earth Day: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/kids/earthday.htm

·        Learn about Earth Day by watching these kid-friendly videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQIzoLURl2g

CREATE:

·        Go international, and play Canadian eco-games at http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/kids_home.cfm

·        Get colorful with this coloring and activities book from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov/region5/earthday/happy.html

·        Try one or more of 50 Earth Day activities: http://tinkerlab.com/fifty-earth-day-activities/

CARE:

·        http://earthday2015.ca/25-ways-to-clean-your-commute/ has 25 ways to green up your trip.

·        Start a Recycle Rangers Club with these resources: http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/earthday/rangers.htm

·        Be a part of a billion acts of green: http://www.earthday.org/takeaction/

·        Decorate grocery bags for Earth Day: http://www.earthdaybags.org/

CAREERS:

Make some “green” by going green as a career.  Have a job where every day is Earth Day. Find out at:

·        http://idealistcareers.org/inspired-by-earth-day-here-are-jobs-volunteer-opportunities-and-events-to-explore/

·        http://www.epa.gov/careers/

·        http://www.childrenoftheearth.org/Navy%20Pages/eco_careers.htm

Take Time to Smell the Roses …

When we think of spring, we often think of flowers, but they can be found year round in some places. Flowers are more than something to look at and smell. Discover the colorful world of flowers here.

CONNECT:

• Explore flowers with PBS: http://www.pbs.org/parents/catinthehat/activity_exploring_flowers.html
• Find lots of flower facts at http://www.avasflowers.net/facts-about-flowers-for-kids. Try making a trivia game using these facts.
• Did you know that flowers can be a secret language, and have different meanings around the world? Find out at http://www.livingartsoriginals.com/infoflowersymbolism.htm
• Have you heard of Xrays for flowers? Take a look at floral radiographs to get an inside picture: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~agrxray/

CREATE:

• Celebrate wildflowers, and add color, in your own home by using the Plant Conservation Alliance's coloring books: http://www.nps.gov/plants/color/
• Make your own blooming tea; watch how to do this at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaQ-FJAZfXM.  Here’s a list of herbs for teas: http://www.garden.org/foodguide/browse/herb/unusual/1339
• Solve the mystery of the Great Plant Escape: http://urbanext.illinois.edu/gpe/gpe.html
• “Eat your weeds, dear.” Yes, you can eat dandelions. Watch how to pick them safely, and prepare them in dishes to eat: http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/03/eat-your-weeds-tips-for-picking-and-cooking-dandelions.html

CARE:

• Help create life – and help sustain your family by following the FUNdamentals of “My First Garden”: http://urbanext.illinois.edu/firstgarden/index.cfm
• Take greening to the community by trying one of the service-learning projects detailed at http://www.epa.gov/osw/education/pdfs/svclearn.pdf
• The Great Plans of the MidWest used to spread out over half a million square miles; now less than 2% of the native prairie remains. You can turn a bare dirt field into a prairie in this restoration challenge game: http://www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/games/prairie/build/index.html
• Create flower crafts, and give them to someone to brighten up their day: http://www.freekidscrafts.com/girls-crafts/flower-crafts-girls-crafts/

CAREERS:

Like getting your hands dirty? Try growing flowers for a living. Like to creat something beautiful? Do flower arranging? Like selling? There are flowershops and gardening centers waiting for you. Here are some starting websites about such careers.

http://www.aboutflowers.com/about-the-flower-industry/floral-industry-careers.html

http://endowment.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/AFE-Grow-Your-Future-Career-Brochure.pdf

Spring into Action

Spring has sprung, and that means daylight outshines and outlasts moonlight. So put some spring into your step, and enjoy these springtime Internet activities.

CONNECT:

• Try out some of these family-friendly spring activities from England: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/spring
• It’s time to get movin’, especially for the birds. Track spring migration at http://www.learner.org/jnorth/
• What is the reason for the seasons? Watch this video to see why: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlCLX27NqMg
• Why do animals have more babies in the spring? Find out the reason for this another spring happenings at http://www.topmarks.co.uk/spring/BabyAnimals.aspx?age=ks2.
• Read how baby animals resemble their parents at http://www.hometrainingtools.com/a/learn-about-baby-animals

CREATE:

• Different cultures celebrate spring in unique ways. Experience Hina Matsuri, Dolls’ Festival, by making  Japanese paper doll; follow the directions at http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Hina-Matsuri-Dolls.  You can read more about the festival at http://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/hina-matsuri
• Join the chorus of spring songs at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DobrRgD5aOU
• Here are lots of spring crafts to make: http://theimaginationtree.com/2012/04/15-spring-activities-for-kids.html
• Create life! – by gardening. Here are some ways to engage children in digging up fun in the garden: http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/952457/spring-gardening-ideas-for-young-kids

CARE:

• Brighten up someone’s day by making a spring craft for them. There are lots of ideas at http://theimaginationtree.com/2012/04/15-spring-activities-for-kids.html
• Share a spring story with family and friends; reading aloud can be a welcome activity for a bedridden person. You can start with this list of top children’s books for celebrating spring: http://www.amightygirl.com/mighty-girl-picks/top-books-for-celebrating-spring
• Do you have extra time during spring break? Why not share with others? Here are some simple service projects that chase away boredom and help others: http://penniesoftime.com/acts-of-kindness-and-simple-service-projects-for-spring-break/
• Spring into actoin by building a community nature trail; follow these steps: http://www.walterreeves.com/how-to-archive/how-to-build-a-school-nature-trail/

CAREERS:

What jobs get really busy in the spring? They say, “Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it.” Not true, if you ask a meteorologists (weather scientists). Spring has the most varied weather of the four seasons. And the season also impacts veterinarians (animal doctors) and farmers, to name a few. What other jobs spring to mind this season?

http://www.weather.gov/careers

https://aavmc.org/Students-Applicants-and-Advisors/Careers-in-Veterinary-Medicine.aspx

http://www.agday.org/education/careers.php

https://www.ffa.org/home

Beam Me Up, Scotty!

Dr. Spock may have died, but there may be extraterrestrials, creatures from outer space, aliens, space beings, little green men. Humans have wondered about life beyond earth for millenia. It’s time to hunt for alien worlds!

CONNECT:

• Start at Project Family ASTRO for fun activities: http://www.astrosociety.org/education/k12-educators/about-family-astro/
• What’s fact and fiction about extraterrestrial life? Test your knowledge at http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/system/interactable/6/index.html
• Trace the history of extra-terrestrial quests at http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/system/interactable/2/timeline.html
• Do you like atlases: collections of maps? http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/newworldsatlas is an atlas of over a thousand new worlds.
• See how infrared reveals the universe at http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/infrared_universe
• There are some strange alien-looking creatures here on earth; find them at http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/system/interactable/3/index.html

CREATE:

• Wake up, space traveler! You've entered your target solar system. Time to begin your mission: Find and photograph the planet known as Jupiter and see if a habitable planet exists in this sector. Start your mission at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/worlds/life/
• Are there other planets with life? The Exoplanet Data Explorer is an interactive table and plotter for exploring and displaying data. Explore this database at http://exoplanets.org/
• Plan an interstellar trip using http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/system/interactable/5/index.html
• Search for alien life at http://www.alienearths.org/online/searchforlife/index.php
• Create your own planet at http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/system/interactable/1/index.html

CARE:

• Help scientists by classifying data from http://www.planethunters.org/ to discover new worlds.
• Become a member of an astronomy club, or follow them online at  http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm  Bring the universe to you!
• Volunteer to help with Project FIRST, which promotes sports of the mind (which could like to explore alien worlds): http://www.usfirst.org/
• Support the search for life in the universe; become at SETIStar: http://www.seti.org/seti-educators

CAREERS:

What’s it like to have a career hunting for new worlds?

• Follow this scientist’s blog: http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/ave/33.
• Read about these SETI scientists: http://www.seti.org/seti-institute/about-seti/scientists
• You might  even become a UFOlogist: http://www.cufos.org/you_want_to_be_a_ufologist.pdf